In this issue, new series writer Karen Traviss (author of the best-selling Gears of War novels) takes us into the past with a story focusing on Marcus Fenix's father, Adam. It's a time before Emergence Day and the arrival of the Locusts, and the humans of Sera have battling each other for 62 years in conflict known as the Pendulum Wars. Adam is appalled by the human carnage he sees in battle and is determined to find a better way to wage war. He's been offered a post in the COG's weapons research agency, but has to wrestle with the guilt of abandoning his brothers in arms for what some might view as an easy way out. Adam's decision will ultimately have long-term ramifications even after the coming of E-Day.